Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Barry Walthall, Building Codes Administrator
CC:	Scott McCullough, Director, Planning & Development Services
Date:	March 8, 2010
RE:	Building Permit Trends

The purpose of this report is to provide information concerning trends for building permits issued compared to previous years and to other area jurisdictions.  Other area jurisdictions surveyed include the other permit issuing jurisdictions within Douglas County, including Douglas County, Eudora, and Baldwin City.  Other jurisdictions surveyed were Topeka, De Soto, Olathe, Salina, Ottawa, Emporia, and Lenexa.

Total Number of Permits

Permit activity declined for the eighth consecutive year since 2001 to a total of 1,998 permits issued in 2009.  The line graph below shows the trend for permits issued in Lawrence since 2000:

The number of permits issued in 2009 declined 8% from 2008, from 2,179 to 1,998.  All of the area jurisdictions surveyed experienced decreases in permit activity in 2009, with only Lenexa (-2%), Olathe (-3%), and DeSoto (-4%) experiencing lower decreases than Lawrence.

The five-year average number of permits issued is another tool to compare permit activity.  Of the jurisdictions surveyed, only Lenexa issued more permits in 2009 than average over the last five years (2005-2009).  The 1,998 permits issued in Lawrence in 2009 were 16% below the five-year average of 2,384. 

Total Permit Valuation

The total value of construction projects decreased compared to last year, $75.3M in 2009 compared to $146.5M in 2008.  The total valuation of permits for 2009 was the lowest total since $73.7M in 1992, and also the first year since 1992 that total valuation has not exceeded $100M.

Valuation for public projects was $7,010,333, compared to $10,642,761 in 2008.  School district athletic facilities accounted for $4.1M, or 58%.

The top ten projects in permit value for 2009 accounted for 41% of the total value of construction.  In 2008 the top ten projects in permit value accounted for 54% of the total value of permits issued.  The top ten projects in 2009 were:

	Address	Project Description	Project Value
1	4301 W. 24th Pl	Campus Crest Apartments	$13,140,909
2	2029 Becker Dr	LDCBA Incubator	$5,500,000
3	4841 Bauer Farm Dr	CVS Pharmacy	$2,486,000
4	4700 Overland Dr	FSHS Athletic Facilities	$2,246,964
5	1901 Louisiana St	LHS Athletic Facilities	$1,884,964
6	2450 Fairfield St	Tractor Supply Company	$1,635,095
7	4851 Harvard Rd	Pioneer Ridge Acute Care Addition	$1,376,376
8	1216 Biltmore Dr	Neuvant House Assisted Living	$1,205,760
9	4801 Bauer Farm Dr	Retail Spec Building	$883,629
10	123 W. 8th St	Standard Mutual Life Bldg Remodel	$800,000

Lawrence experienced a 49% decrease in permit valuation compared to a year ago.  Only three permit agencies reported increases in valuation from 2008, with Emporia reporting the largest increase of 280%.  Emporia officials reported this increase was entirely due to one project, Hills Pet Nutrition Plant, valued at $89.6M, or 85% of the total value of construction for the year.  Without this project, total valuation for Emporia in 2009 would have been $15.6M, a decrease of 43% from 2008.  Ottawa reported the largest decrease from 2008, 97%.

The average annual valuation of permits issued over the past five years for Lawrence was $125.8M.  Permit valuation for 2009, $75.3M, was 40% below average for the past five years.  Emporia, Eudora, and Baldwin City exceeded their five-year averages for 2009.  Ottawa reported the largest decrease, 97%, with less than $1M in valuation of permits issued in 2009 compared to $30.1M averaged over the last five years.

Residential Permits

The number of permits issued for new one- and two-family dwellings increased in 2009, from 114 permits issued in 2008 to 126 in 2009.  Lawrence is the only jurisdiction reporting an increase.  Salina and Emporia issued the same number of permits in 2009 as 2008.  Baldwin City reported the largest percent decrease, 83%.

None of the jurisdictions surveyed reported increases in residential permits issued versus their five-year average number of permits issued.  Salina had the lowest negative percent difference (-27%) of permits issued in 2009 compared to the five-year average.  They averaged 84 permits during the period 2005 through 2009, compared to 61 permits issued in 2009.  Lawrence had the second lowest negative percent difference of -37%, with an average of 199 permits issued the last five years compared to 126 permits in 2009.

Despite the modest increase in one- and two-family dwellings, the total number of dwelling units constructed in 2009 decreased 54% from 2008, from 683 units to 314.  This was the fewest dwelling units constructed in a single year since 1982.

Additionally, the number of dwelling units constructed in 2009 was 32% less than the average number of units constructed over the last five years, with 314 units constructed in 2009 compared to the 465 units averaged between 2005 and 2009.

Since the year 1988, construction of one- and two-family dwelling units have exceeded multi-family units every year except 1996, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Commercial Permits

There were 9 permits for new commercial projects in 2009, compared to 11 in 2008.  This is the fourth consective annual decrease in permits issued for new commercial projects.

Only two of the area jurisdictions surveyed reported increases in the number of new commercial projects in 2009, Topeka (102%) and Olathe (83%).  Eudora reported the same number as 2008.  Of the jurisdictions reporting decreases, Lawrence had the smallest (18%).  DeSoto officials issued 13 permits for new commercial projects in 2008, but did not issue any permits in 2009 resulting in a 100% decrease.